diff --git a/content/lohengrin.md b/content/lohengrin.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..52a9c30 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/lohengrin.md @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +Title: Lohengrin +Date: 2021-07-29 +Category: Opera + + +Have you heard of Lohengrin? It is a German Opera written and composed by +Richard Wagner in 1850. I happen to think that German Opera is more +entertaining than Italian Opera, but enough about me. + +### King Ludwig II +Which brings me to King Ludwig II of Bavaria. If I understand correctly, +King Ludwig was very fond of Lohengrin, and built Neuschwanstein Castle +as a private world for himself where he could live alone in a fantasy +inspired by the *Knight of the Swan* Legend, on which Lohengrin +is based. + +But don't judge King Ludwig II too harshly: he was after all a cigar connoisseur, +drove a smoking-hot golden carriage, and Neuschwanstein Castle is +an excellent place to take selfies. You really should visit the +Marstallmuseum at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and see the golden +carriage. + +Needless to say, Lohengrin is quite different from the Strauss Operas +that your great-great-great Grandmother used to listen to on +her smartphone in the bathtub. + +### Lohengrin +So what happens in Lohengrin? King Henry the Fowler fights the Magyars. +This means we have to talk about the Magyars, King Henry's Son Otto, +the Battle of Augsburg which is sometimes called the Battle of Lechfeld, +and the Mongols! + +### Magyars +Ok, the Magyars are descended from a nomadic-steppe-people who settled on +the Hungarian Plain, which is sometimes called the Carpathian Plain. + +Unfortunately for them, the Hungarian Plain was not quite vast +enough to support a prosperous nomadic lifestyle. And so for some hundreds +of years, the Magyars raided and pillaged all over Europe. It should be noted that +Hungary considers 1896 to be the 1000th anniversary of the Magyars entering +the Carpathian Plain, and in that year many memorials, monuments, and museums +were built in Budapest. + +As stated above, the Magyars came into conflict with King Henry the Fowler +who was the King of East Frankia. East Frankia evolved from the Eastern Parts of the +Carolingian Empire that was originally put together by Charlemagne. Indeed, +there is today a region of Bavaria called Franconia, which has excellent +regional passenger trains connecting innumerable picturesque little cities and towns +which are perfect for taking selfies and drinking the local bier. But I digress. + +### Battle of Lechfeld +The Magyars were finally defeated by King Henry the Fowler's son King Otto I +near Augsburg in 910, Augsburg being an ancient city in Bavaria that goes all +the way back to the Roman Empire. + +King Otto I of East Frankia was the greatest King since Charlemagne, and the +Battle of Lechfeld was equal in importance to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, +in the context of European History, but deeper analysis of that is above my +pay grade. (This is a free blog post) + +### Recommended +Anyway, the Magyars gave up their raiding, became Christianized, and adopted +a more agrarian lifestyle on the Hungarian Plain where they founded the Nation +of Hungary around the year 1000. In the 13th Century, the Mongols invaded Hungary, +but were never able to advance beyond Hungary into Western Europe. + +For more riveting entertainment about the Mongols, I recommend Dan Carlin's Hardcore +History Podcast, in particular the subseries *Wrath of The Khans*. + +Thanks for reading, I'm fresh out of cigars. diff --git a/output/archives.html b/output/archives.html index 7324a56..130067b 100644 --- a/output/archives.html +++ b/output/archives.html @@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ Atom RSS + Opera War Twitter Github @@ -51,6 +52,8 @@

Archives for Attention Span History

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Thu 29 July 2021
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Lohengrin
Tue 27 July 2021
Battle In The Middle Ages
diff --git a/output/author/trent-palmer.html b/output/author/trent-palmer.html index 6687aff..faae778 100644 --- a/output/author/trent-palmer.html +++ b/output/author/trent-palmer.html @@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ Atom RSS + Opera War Twitter Github @@ -52,6 +53,18 @@

Articles by Trent Palmer

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    Lohengrin

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    Have you heard of Lohengrin? It is a German Opera written and composed by +Richard Wagner in 1850. I happen to think that German Opera is more +entertaining than Italian …

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  2. Battle In The Middle Ages